Guwahati, June 26: After intensifying operation against wildlife crime, forest officials on Tuesday arrested two dreaded poachers from Manas National Park and seized wildlife body parts along with a huge cache of weapons from their possession.

The arrested poachers have been identified as Kalicharan Basumatary and Maisorang Gayari, both hailing from Assam’s Chirang district.

The operation was carried out under the leadership of the Field Director of the Manas Project Tiger Office in collaborative efforts of the Kuklung and Panbari ranges.

“We have recovered two handmade guns, an antler of a deceased deer, a porcupine quill, gun parts, a bullet-making machine, bow and arrow including various weapons,” said a forest official.

He said, “The two arrested poachers have been taken to custody and presented in court, following which they were sent to judicial custody,”.

Recently, a West Bengal forest official arrested a Manipur resident from Naxalbari in Darjeeling district on Saturday evening and the horn of one-horned rhino was seized from his possession.

The arrested person has been identified as Ajit Singh.

In March this year, the Special Task Force of Assam police arrested three alleged rhino poachers and recovered a rhino horn weighing 7.14 kilograms from Kamrup district.

In January, Assam police arrested a team of suspected animal poachers who killed an adult female rhino in Kaziranga National Park and Tiger Reserve. Police also recovered a Rifle of AK Series which was used for killing the rhino.

According to sources, the wildlife officials’ investigation has also led to the “prolific” Vietnamese and Chinese criminal networks driving the trafficking of horns throughout the supply chain.

The World Heritage Committee(WHC) has expressed happiness with the ongoing efforts to monitor key species within the property and continued efforts to strengthen anti-poaching are welcomed. “It is positive that rhino populations are reported to be stable, the tiger population has been increasing since 2006, and efforts to reintroduce pygmy hogs are facilitating recovery of this endangered species” the Committee says recommending that systematic long-term monitoring is implemented for the property to continue tracking the status of key species and ensure their protection, combined with continued anti-poaching efforts.

The World Heritage Committee is one of the two bodies governing the Convention for the Protection of the World’s Cultural and Natural Heritage. It is composed of the representatives of 21 States, elected from the 195 States parties to the Convention.

“Rhino populations have remained fairly stable over the last three years due to strengthened protection measures, reporting 38 (2020-21), 40 (2021-22) and 47 (2022-2023) individuals. A 2023 report on the status of tigers in India recorded 57 individuals in the Manas Tiger Reserve, with an increasing trend in population and density since 2006. In 2023, the reintroduction of pygmy hogs to the property (54 to date) continues recovery efforts towards meeting the release target of 60 hogs by 2025.

Several new anti-poaching camps have been constructed on the property” the Committee says.

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